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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. drill — a practice
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. drill — the tool
  6. stock — shares
  7. staff — employees
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. staff — a stick
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. spring — the season
  12. mate — a partner
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. drill — army training
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mate — to breed
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. spring — of water
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. staff — employees
  23. spring — a coil
  24. stock — goods

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com